


Barter System

by justanexercise



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-26 11:00:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12057600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanexercise/pseuds/justanexercise
Summary: They’ve been swapping food for a few weeks now and Kara just has to gather the courage to get a date with Alex along with her drink.





	Barter System

 

Kara tidies up her already spotless work station, tossing the ends of the bread slices into the trash. She straightens out the cap on her head and tugs on her ponytail. Five more minutes until the end of her shift. She glances around, looking for her supervisor, only finding college kids eating their lunch. She slips her phone out.

 **[Alex]:** What’s on the menu today Chef Zor-El?

Her mouth twists into a small smile.

 **[Kara** ] **:** A nice chicken salad on croissant and a healthy selection of cold cuts and veggies.

Three dots appear on her messenger app. Looks like Alex is taking a break too.

 **[Alex]** : Surprise me. And fries. Seasoned today right?

 **[Kara]** : Yup! See you later :)

Kara slides the phone back into her pocket when a student clears his throat.

“Sorry,” Kara says, listening to his directions on making his sandwich. He grunts when she smiles and hands him his plate, barely sparing her a glance as he walks to a table.

The phone burns in her pocket, her fingers twitching to text Alex again. But she can last a few more minutes. Kara hums, hastily making her own sandwich, watching out for Eve who should be taking over her shift. After she wraps her sandwich nice and neat, Eve stumbles in, tucking her hair under her hat.

“Sorry Kara!” Eve breathes out, catching herself at the edge of the table. “I lost track of time and I’m so sorry.”

“No problem,” Kara says with a beaming smile. “Just a few minutes. Did you clock in yet?”

Eve nods hastily and looks at the chalkboard on their table for their daily special. “Chicken salad croissant?”

“Oh yea! Here let me show you.” Kara carefully cuts the croissant in half, using the lettuce as a barrier to hold the chicken salad scooped on top. She garnishes with a few extra vegetables. “Got it?”

Eve bites her lip, nodding. “Yea, looks pretty straightforward.”

Kara grins, packing up the sandwich and makes her way to the backroom to clock herself out and gets her backpack. She waves at Winn who’s manning the grill today.

“Hey, can I get some seasoned fries?” Kara asks pointing to the pile under the heat lamp.

“I got a fresh batch coming up, if you have a few minutes.”

“Sure!” Kara leans against the wall, away from the line of hungry students. Winn hands her a bag of fresh fries. “Thanks Winn.”

Winn grins and winks. “Have fun on your date!”

Kara sputters, her cheeks going red. “It’s not a date!”

Winn chuckles, going back to his station while Kara huffs, balancing the bags in her arm as she walks out of the dining commons. Her steps grow lighter and faster the closer she is to the Starbucks on campus. She can already see a line through the windows, a never-ending stream of students yearning for caffeine. Pausing at the door, Kara checks her reflection in the window, grimacing at the hat hair when she takes it off. She redoes her pony tail, fluffing her hair up. Good thing for her she wasn’t working the grill station today or else she’d smell like oil for the rest of the day.

She pushes through the door, eyes immediately looking for her favorite barista. Her smile drops slightly when Alex is nowhere in sight. She spots a familiar face and goes to the end of the line where the drinks pick up is.

“Hey James!” Kara waves.

James nods at her with a grin of his own before calling out a customer’s name. He hands it over, giving his best customer service before turning back to Kara. “Hey, whatcha got there?” He nods to the bag full of food.

“Oh, a chicken salad croissant, sandwich and fries.”

“Seasoned fries?”

“Yup! There’s those special Portobello mushroom burgers too. Winn’s on the grill today.”

“Yes!” James does a fist pump in the air. “Guess he deserves that extra shot of espresso.”

“Do not. He’ll never go to sleep.”

“Half a shot?”

James could never deny Winn his vices. Kara good naturedly rolls her eyes. “You two are hopeless.”

James piffles. “Yea like you aren’t.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” James wipes his hands on his apron. “Alex is out in the back, she’ll be out soon.” He winks at her.

“Go make drinks,” Kara teases, sticking her tongue out. Once he turns away, Kara finds a reflective surface, the window separating the counters and smooths out her hair again, making sure she looks as presentable as possible.

Halfway through checking her teeth for food particles, someone clears their throat behind her and Kara spins around, cheeks flushing.

“H-Hey Alex,” Kara says, eyes failing to maintain contact with Alex’s.

“Hey Kara, sorry about the wait.”

Kara glances at Alex, her apron gone and all the buttons on her polo unbuttoned. Alex runs a hand through her hair and Kara’s throat dries up. Kara nearly squeaks when Alex brushes past her, reaching for the drinks behind her.

“Thanks James,” Alex says.

“No problem.” James smiles brightly. “Get out of here before they think you’re doing a double.”

Alex thanks him, tilting her head towards the doors for Kara to follow.

“Okay, so I have a lovely fall pumpkin spice latte,” Alex says, brandishing the drink in her hand. “Or hot chocolate.”

“Hot chocolate!”

Alex shakes her head fondly and hands Kara her drink. “Of course.”

Kara only realizes that she’s been walking with Alex for a few minutes without a destination in sight. They’d never hung out, usually just exchanged their food and drinks from their work and went on their merry way. Kara keeps quiet, letting the moment linger. This way she can pretend they’re good friends just walking aimlessly together, or possibly girlfriends…

“Hey,” Alex says, sitting down on a massive tree trunk in the middle of the park.

“Right.” Kara shakes her head, sorting through the bag of food for Alex’s half. “So I have a chicken salad croissant and extra fries.”

Alex makes a grabby motion with her hands and snags a fry, moaning at the taste. Kara looks away, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Hey, are you doing anything?” Alex asks.

“What?”

“Wanna join me?” Alex pats the space next to her. “Plenty of room.”

“Sure!” Kara sits down heavily, wincing at the hard contact with the pointy bits of the tree trunk.

Kara leans back against the tree, eating her food in silence, occasionally stealing glances at Alex who’s staring off into the park. A million scenarios flit through her head, she’d been dreaming of this ever since she first met Alex through their barter system. Except now that she’s faced with the realty of being alone with Alex, the perfect opportunity to maybe tip toe into friendship or a relationship….Kara’s drawing a big fat blank.

“Are you doing anything tonight?” Alex asks suddenly, glancing at her from the corner of her eye. She fiddles with the cup in her hand. “There’s this uhm….screening for some old crim movies. Free entry and free snacks and drinks.”

Kara blinks. Did Alex just…

“Yes, yea.” Kara nods so fast her glasses slip down her nose.

Alex smiles, ducking her head shyly. Kara finds that absolutely adorable.

“As a …date right?” Kara asks, wanting to clarify, just in case.

“Yea.” Alex holds her hands up, her eyes widening. “Unless you don’t want to, then that’s totally fine.”

“I want it to be a date.” Kara scoots closer, taking Alex’s hand and entwining their fingers.

Alex stares at their hands, cheeks starting to pink.

Kara rubs her thumb on the back of Alex’s hand, feeling the soft skin. This is much better than any scenario she could dream up, now all she has to do is get that good night kiss and it would be perfect.


End file.
